Bain called himself "the cynical Brit" and amassed more than 2 million subscribers as TotalBiscuit with reviews, gameplay videos, and podcasts posted on his official channel.

Regular features included "TotalBiscuit suggests trying..." and "WTF is..." — long-form videos giving viewers an in-depth look at a new title, delivered in a colloquial, funny style.

He posted his last review in early 2018 after his cancer worsened. He wrote a long reddit post at the start of May, where he said "I don't have long left", and wrote that his priority from then would be managing the amount of pain he was in.

His wife, Genna Bain, posted a tribute to her husband on Thursday night, writing, "Rest in Peace my Dearest Love."

She also posted the text of "Love Constant Beyond Death," a poem by the 17th-century poet Francisco de Quevedo.

"Don't think it's 'weird' that you're feeling sadness over John's passing. Even if you've never met him, his voice has been a mainstay in the gaming community for years.

"Many of us grew up with his distinct views and contributions to video games. He shaped so many minds and opinions through his sarcastic wit and no-bulls--- attitude and that's a voice that will be impossible to replace."

Bain talked about his cancer diagnosis in an interview with H3H3, another popular YouTube channel, in October:

In the clip, Bain said: "There's a couple of small tumors in my liver, and there's one very, very small nodule in my lung. It's stage 4, which means it's spread past the initial place it was. Stage 4 is pretty bad — that's when survival chances go in the toilet."

He said he was having regular chemotherapy, which was a huge drain on him, but added that he wanted to press on as long as possible, not least to keep making videos.

"My job's a huge motivator for me," he said. "I'm proud of what I do, and I enjoy it, and I know that I'm very blessed to be able to do it as a career. So I want to take every opportunity I can to do it."